Scaling, finite size effects, and crossovers of the resistivity and current-voltage characteristics in two-dimensional superconductors

We revisit the scaling properties of the resistivity and the current-voltage characteristics at and below the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, both in zero and nonzero magnetic fields. The scaling properties are derived by integrating the renormalization group flow equations up to a scale where they can be reliably matched to simple analytic expressions. The vortex fugacity turns out to be dangerously irrelevant for these quantities below T-c, thereby altering the scaling behavior. We derive the possible crossover effects as the current, magnetic field, or system size is varied, and find a strong multiplicative logarithmic correction near T-c, all of which is necessary to account for when interpreting experiments and simulation data. Our analysis clarifies a longstanding discrepancy between the finite size dependence found in many simulations and the current-voltage characteristics of experiments. We further show that the logarithmic correction can be avoided by approaching the transition in a magnetic field, thereby simplifying the scaling analysis. We confirm our results by large-scale numerical simulations, and calculate the dynamic critical exponent z, for relaxational Langevin dynamics and for resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction dynamics.